Thankful People: Soldier survives shot to the head, earns Purple Heart

Justin Mercer doesn't call himself a hero, but he considers himself lucky to be alive.

"I'm not the only one who was injured. There were several other guys that got hurt, much worse than me, and a couple guys didn't make it," Mercer said, referring to a dangerous mission in Afghanistan where he survived a bullet that entered his helmet. "I'm not a hero. I was just doing my part, and I was very lucky."

Mercer joined the U.S. Army five years ago, and after completing basic training and Airborne school, he was sent to his duty station in Fort Irwin, Calif. In April 2009, he was released from active duty and returned to Missouri, where he met his wife, Jessica. Mercer was home only six months before he was called back.

"I was really surprised, and I was in a lot of shock," he said. "No one really wants to go to war, but I just knew it was my time to go."

He was deployed to Afghanistan and sent on a mission that is hard to forget.

"The first half of my deployment wasn't that bad, but the second half they really kicked off this push in these remote terror strongholds," Mercer said.

The 25-year-old Bertrand, Mo., resident and his unit were transported to the mission site Sept. 5. Mercer's unit landed first, followed by three more helicopters, but the others were unable to land because of bad weather conditions.

"It was night, and we were stranded on this mountain ridge," Mercer recalled. "Just before daybreak it started to rain. The fog was so thick you couldn't see 10 feet in front of your face. But the sun came up, the clouds kind of broke and the fire started. It came in all directions. They had us pretty well surrounded. Just the sheer volume of rounds, we could barely fire back."

The action, Mercer said, slowed down about an hour and half into the mission. Then he was struck by a bullet.

"It came in the front of my helmet, about two inches above my left eye, but it skirted my scalp and blew out the back," he described. "There was so much force. It felt like someone hit me in the head with a baseball bat."

Mercer said he crawled into a small building nearby and was treated by a "battle buddy." After waiting for an hour and half for weather to clear, Mercer was airlifted and received five stitches to the laceration on his head. He spent two days in the hospital, a week in a traumatic brain injury clinic and in October, he returned home.

"It was pretty amazing," he said. "When I was in the Army before, I was single. So I definitely came home with a different mindset. Now I have a wife and a son, who I am very thankful to be with."

Mercer received a Purple Heart for his head injury and was recently named a sergeant. Sgt. Mercer resides in Bertrand with his wife, Jessica, and their son, Payton.

"It is so wonderful to be home. I am more than thankful."